Only Elaine Keiser’s 4th inning line drive single stood between Amity pitcher Corina Zdrowski and a 7-0 no-hitter against Danbury in the second round of the CIAC Class LL state softball tournament. Keiser literally got the game’s only hit off Zdrowski as it was a line drive that hit the Lady Spartan hurler just above her knee and caromed out to shallow right field. That proved to be the only hit that the 8th rated Hatters recorded off Zdrowski. She also struck out 6 and walked 1 as she went the distance to improve her record to 11-4. The contest was played at Hatter Field in Danbury.
“Corina did an exceptional job today,” Coach Bob Purcell said. “She was very sharp and went into cruise control early in the game. I had not planned on Corina throwing a complete game, but since she was so sharp, I left her in and let her go all the way.”
The 17-5 Lady Spartans picked an unearned run in the top of the second inning. Dana Blydenberg reached base on a Danbury error and raced home on Jenn Post’s double. Consecutive fourth inning base hits by Taylor Baker, Blydenberg, and Zdrowski gave Amity another run. Heather Watt’s sacrifice fly and Zdrowski’s second RBI single of the afternoon gave Amity a 4-0 advantage.
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Jackie Ferraiolo led off the top of the fifth with a double and she was driven home on Blydenberg’s RBI single. Leading 5-0, the Black and Gold closed out the scoring with a pair of seventh inning insurance runs. Emily Fox led off by legging out a bunt single. Back-to-back base hits from Baker and Blydenberg staked Zdrowski to a 6-0 lead. Zdrowski’s sacrifice fly drove Baker with the Lady Spartans’ final tally of the day.
Purcell said, “I thought we played really well today. We had 13 hits and all of them were legit. This is the second game in a row that Jenn Hoffer played well at third base. She gives our infield a lot of confidence. This has been an eye-opening process for our girls, but they are having fun. They are not the least bit tense. They really believe they can win any game they play.”
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Blydenberg chalked up 3 singles, 2 runs, and a pair of RBI for the 9th ranked Lady Spartans. Baker added 2 singles and a run. In addition to going the distance for the win, Zdrowski stroked 2 base hits, scored a run, and drove in 2 runs.
The 8th ranked Hatters end their season with a 16-6 record.
